California Hides Identity Of ‘High-Ranking’ Cop Who Abused ‘Confidential’ State Database

A state law enforcement officer used a confidential police database to dig up information on coworkers, relatives and local officials.

The unnamed “high-ranking” officer searched the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS) for the home addresses and vehicles of six other employees without a legitimate business need, California State Auditor Grant Parks’ office found in a report released Oct. 1. This follows Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s veto of a bill in Oct. 2025 that would have required public agencies to document employee searches of license plate reader data and cap how long they can keep the data.

“A high‑ranking law enforcement officer misused access to a confidential law enforcement database by looking up information about himself, his family members, agency staff, and vehicles without a business purpose for doing so,” the report stated in the Unnamed State Agency section. “We are not naming the agency that is the subject of this report because doing so may identify or lead to the identification of the individuals mentioned in the report, which would violate state law.”

Using CLETS, this officer also ran searches on a deputy district attorney, a county supervisor and 65 vehicles listed for sale online, according to the report. A family member then bought one of the vehicles.

The individual conceded he had been “doing more than should” and claimed his searches of coworkers were “part of threat assessments.”

The auditor did not name the officer or specific agency as the auditor is required to “ confidential the identity of the employee or employees involved,” according